Preview Thread -RaboDirect Pro12 Final - RDS, 25th May, 1645 - live on RTE2/TG4/BBCNI

trouttrout

rockbeast wrote: »

great spectacle. hard luck ulster.

Great second-half from pienaar which brought them right back. Really beginning to believe PJ is just a passenger in that side and a serious handicap to ulster.
Made a linebreak in each half, fair enough, but not much else other than that.

well done leinster.

His distribution was very good, defense was solid, made two brilliant breaks. What else should he have done>?

He played very well

rockbeast

trouttrout wrote: »

His distribution was very good, defense was solid, made two brilliant breaks. What else should he have done>?

He played very well

just don't think he imposes himself on a game, calls for the ball enough, makes things happen enough.

He IS a good tackler but that's reactive. Would like to see him more proactive in the pocket. Bypassed too often for my liking. he definitely has the talent but is he being protected by pienaar or avoided by him?

my 2c.

bilston

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

rockbeast wrote: »

great spectacle. hard luck ulster.

Great second-half from pienaar which brought them right back. Really beginning to believe PJ is just a passenger in that side and a serious handicap to ulster.
Made a linebreak in each half, fair enough, but not much else other than that.

well done leinster.

Jackson played very well today. Two line breaks, great defence, good distribution, a couole of good kicks, excellent restarts, granted Pienaar does most of the kicking but Jackson is far from a passenger.

trouttrout

rockbeast wrote: »

just don't think he imposes himself on a game, calls for the ball enough, makes things happen enough.

He IS a good tackler but that's reactive. Would like to see him more proactive in the pocket. Bypassed too often for my liking. he definitely has the talent but is he being protected by pienaar or avoided by him?

my 2c.

Ya I think I know where you're coming from and maybe he is being underutilised/not trusted to an extent but I thought he did everything he was asked of well tonight

Peregrine

ambid wrote: »

Okay. At the start of the match Hook said Nacewa in for Kearney weakened Leinster's attack.

Now he's just said Nacewa is a better attacker than Kearney.


Can anybody explain this to me?

I'd rather have Kearney at fullback and Isa on the wing than Isa at fullback and Conway on the wing.

He said Isa is better than Kearney but when he moved to 15, the team was weakened due to Conway coming in on the wing.
Hook is still a gob****e though.


Absolutely delighted for Leinster. A great way to say farewell to Joe Schmidt, Johnny, Isa, Conway and Jamie Hagan. (Fionn Carr too?)

A lot of maginal calls but the referee was consistent with both teams. The number of penalties being conceded made it almost hard to watch at one point but a very good game overall. Boss and Jennings played especially well imo.

Thankfully Kearney is okay and BOD is back fighting.

But the big question still remains..

What happened to Madigan's hair?

chris85

Real cracker of a game. Thought Jennings showed true grit to be called from bench to start and put in a MOTM performance.

rockbeast

trouttrout wrote: »

Ya I think I know where you're coming from and maybe he is being underutilised/not trusted to an extent but I thought he did everything he was asked of well tonight

yep, i think he is capable of a lot more and should be given the opportunity more to show what he can do.

But glad he wan't today:)

sixy

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

Gutted we lost, seen too many big games the last couple of years that we have lost.

Thought Lacey was hard on ulster but I will need to watch it again on tv.

Anyway, congrats Leinster, great team

hardCopy

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

But the big question still remains..

What happened to Madigan's hair?

I'd say he lost a bet

A-Train

Very happy with that result! Voice gone great craic in the South Stand...

Great game

thebaz

wonderful victory -

Thank you Joe, Johnny and Isa for a wonderful journey, and making leinster the champions they are. Respect.

TheKeenMachine

Just back from the match, I must say I am delighted!
I was a bit disappointed by the Ulster fans during Sexton's kicks, but other than that, the atmosphere was excellent.
Pienaar was imperious I thought, my MOTM but as a unit the Leinster back row were the difference today, all three were brilliant.
Commiserations Ulster, on another day you could have won, but I'm delighted for Leinster and especially Joe.
COYBIB!

leakyboots

TheKeenMachine wrote: »

Just back from the match, I must say I am delighted!
I was a bit disappointed by the Ulster fans during Sexton's kicks, but other than that, the atmosphere was excellent.
Pienaar was imperious I thought, my MOTM but as a unit the Leinster back row were the difference today, all three were brilliant.
Commiserations Ulster, on another day you could have won, but I'm delighted for Leinster and especially Joe.
COYBIB!

Congrats Leinster, fine team. Atmosphere came across great on the TV. Ulster could have serious grievances with the ref but Diack's failure to dot down the ball and a string of silly penalties (Henry especially) in the red zone is what undid them.

Maybe it's slight wishful thinking from this Munster fan but I wonder will Leinster suffer a similar slump to us with the personnel leaving and retiring

bilston

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

leakyboots wrote: »

Maybe it's slight wishful thinking from this Munster fan but I wonder will Leinster suffer a similar slump to us with the personnel leaving and retiring

Well you would have to think that they have peaked, replacing Sexton and Nacewa won't be easy.

Grimebox

Nobody is obliged to anything during the kicks. I like to see some variety including booing tbh

OldRio

Thanks to both teams and fans for a great final.
Really enjoyed it but I do worry about how much punishment a human body can take.
Old age could be painful for these young bucks.

rockbeast

Grimebox wrote: »

Nobody is obliged to anything during the kicks. I like to see some variety including booing tbh

Yeah, silence or booing, up to the fans. Really don't like this holier than thou attitude to silence and "hush" for kicks. Booings fine in my book. Shouting insults at kicker is wrong though and don't believe that happens very often and certainly not today.

Anyway it should give J10 an idea of what to expect in France.

OldRio

Grimebox wrote: »

Nobody is obliged to anything during the kicks. I like to see some variety including booing tbh

Booing reminds me of soccer fans. :mad:

Hippo

TheKeenMachine wrote: »

the Leinster back row were the difference today, all three were brilliant.

This. Jenno was motm for me, but the back row as a whole was fantastic despite many predictions that Ulster would have the edge there.

KERSPLAT!

Leinster have really had a fantastic season. To win 3 trophies in a season riddled with injuries. That strength and depth and the experience given to the younger players will play a huge part in next season. Absolutely delighted with the win today and really happy to give Joe, Isa, Johnny and the rest the send off they deserved!

boschmaster

Just got back from the game. Did anyone hear one of the Ulster supporters shouting 'RONAN' when Sexton was taking his first penalty. Also, did anyone hear the chant that the Leinster boys got going when Pienaar was taking his first kick 'WE WANT PADDY! WE WANT PADDY!' Absolutely loved this game. COYBIB

bilston

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

To be honest I would have thought kicking in complete silence would be a lot harder than kicking with background noise.

On TV anyway I thought the fans were pretty quiet for the kicks, a couple of noises from both sets of fans but nothing unusual.

vienne86

Just in from the game - completely knackered and hoarse! Fabulous atmosphere in the south stand. Thanks to both teams for a great gameand thanks to Leinster for a great season.

TheGoldenAges

Haven't you seen the o2 ads lads, the kickers get teleported to a pitch in the middle of the forest, throw anything you like at them

Grimebox

I hope the Leinster squad gets proper sh!t-faced tonight after putting off the celebrations for another week

Grimebox

If the ref hadn't blown this up, would it have been a double movement?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEUfmZcScoE

trouttrout

Grimebox wrote: »

If the ref hadn't blown this up, would it have been a double movement?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEUfmZcScoE

What the hell was Diack thinking. Was he trying to make a statement by busting Sexton or did he not realise that all he had to do was fall over the line?

KERSPLAT!

The more I look the worse it seems, it really was a moment of madness

Peregrine

TheGoldenAges wrote: »

Haven't you seen the o2 ads lads, the kickers get teleported to a pitch in the middle of the forest, throw anything you like at them

Only the Aviva is properly equipped for out half teleportation

Duh.

TheGoldenAges

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

Only the Aviva is properly equipped for out half teleportation

Duh.

I'm sure the portal stretches down the road, or atleast when o2 want it to :pac:

RuggieBear

only worse finish i can think of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03gpzFZadcQ

KERSPLAT!

^^^

What the ****!? Mind boggling

neilmulvey

ambid wrote: »

Okay. At the start of the match Hook said Nacewa in for Kearney weakened Leinster's attack.

Now he's just said Nacewa is a better attacker than Kearney.


Can anybody explain this to me?

I think Hook meant McFadden/Kearney/Nacewa was a better back three then McFadden/Nacewa/Conway

Ectoplasm

Just home from the game. Absolutely crackin atmosphere. Was great to have both Ulster and Leinster fans in full voice. Fabulous weather, great game and finally, finally the Rabo win...could not ask for more. :-)

Steve

What a game of rugby!!!

The atmosphere at the match was electric, it was a hard game but we did it!!

Stand uuuuuuup for the Leinster men!! :D:D

boschmaster wrote: »

Also, did anyone hear the chant that the Leinster boys got going when Pienaar was taking his first kick 'WE WANT PADDY! WE WANT PADDY!'

Heard that but it sounded more like it was the Ulster fans.. was hard to tell from the south stand.

durkadurka

Just back from the game. Absolutely savage atmosphere and brilliant day out all told.

Special thanks to the lad with the heinekens in his bag who swapped seats with my brother allowing us to sit together. He was a one man atmosphere and I was almost sorry to lose him to my brother!

We won by a whisker which was about right.

Ulster gave us 10 handy points at the start and that made the difference but diack absolutely butchered his chance and I felt pienaar should have gone for the sticks on 75 minutes.

Whatever about ref decisions I can't be arsed with. Win some lose some.

Incredible atmosphere, my voice is hoarse.
Great ulster support, the north stand was 75% full a whole hour before kick off.
They were a tad unsporting about the ref at the end and heartily booed Johnny for one kick but generally forced Leinster fans to seriously get behind the team which doesn't always happen .

Who was motm? My vote was jenno.

mfceiling

durkadurka wrote: »

Just back from the game. Absolutely savage atmosphere and brilliant day out all told.

Special thanks to the lad with the heinekens in his bag who swapped seats with my brother allowing us to sit together. He was a one man atmosphere and I was almost sorry to lose him to my brother!

We won by a whisker which was about right.

Ulster gave us 10 handy points at the start and that made the difference but diack absolutely butchered his chance and I felt pienaar should have gone for the sticks on 75 minutes.

Whatever about ref decisions I can't be arsed with. Win some lose some.

Incredible atmosphere, my voice is hoarse.
Great ulster support, the north stand was 75% full a whole hour before kick off.
They were a tad unsporting about the ref at the end and heartily booed Johnny for one kick but generally forced Leinster fans to seriously get behind the team which doesn't always happen .

Who was motm? My vote was jenno.

From the small bit I saw of the game I thought both supporters were excellent. Sometimes the leinster support can be a bit tame but today the atmosphere seemed to be rocking.

Fair play to both teams for a fitting finale to the league.

totallegend

Just back from the match, will need to watch the replay to comment in detail on the game but what an occasion, absolutely brilliant day for the league and for Irish rugby. Really felt that had the game run on another five or ten minutes, Ulster would definitely have won.

Think it's fair to say that Leinster v Ulster is now the provincial rivalry, with the departures from Leinster next season I expect Ulster to establish themselves as the top province.

Was in the north stand with the Ulster fans, had good banter with a few of them and fair play they made a hell of a lot of noise.

A really sour note for me was that a sizeable number of Ulster fans felt the need to boo Lacey as he was collecting his medal, pathetic and bitter.

And just what was Diack thinking?

Ginny

Cracking game, the poor son has 2 parents hoarse as feck! Saw some sombreros on the terrace beside the dressing room, I'm sure it was some of our lot. I'd put money on Heaslip being captain after that trophy lift. Great send off for Isa, Johnny and Joe.

errlloyd

To be fair, Leinster fans (of which I am one) booed Poite en masse last year.

durkadurka

errlloyd wrote: »

To be fair, Leinster fans (of which I am one) booed Poite en masse last year.

Yeah you're right.

AngeGal

totallegend wrote: »

Just back from the match, will need to watch the replay to comment in detail on the game but what an occasion, absolutely brilliant day for the league and for Irish rugby. Really felt that had the game run on another five or ten minutes, Ulster would definitely have won.

Think it's fair to say that Leinster v Ulster is now the provincial rivalry, with the departures from Leinster next season I expect Ulster to establish themselves as the top province.

Was in the north stand with the Ulster fans, had good banter with a few of them and fair play they made a hell of a lot of noise.

A really sour note for me was that a sizeable number of Ulster fans felt the need to boo Lacey as he was collecting his medal, pathetic and bitter.

And just what was Diack thinking?

I wouldn't be writing Munster off too quickly, they still have a formidable pack of forwards, the backrow especially will only improve from their experiences this season.

Conway has really impressed the last few weeks and if he can continue in that vein he will be a great addition.

Obviously a lot will depend on the no.10, if (and it's a big if) Keatley/Hanrahan can deliver consistently in that spot then Munster will be a serious outfit.

They may still be slightly in transition next season but I think they've a promising future.

Conchir

RuggieBear wrote: »

only worse finish i can think of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03gpzFZadcQ

I've always dreamt of someone doing that to Ashton just as he does his swan dive. Moment of the season material if it happened.

Just about the booing during kicks. I hate it and it shouldn't happen in rugby, but if parts of a crowd are going to do it, I wish people wouldn't shush them. Just be the bigger person and ignore them. And then afterwards just stay silent during their kicks. But the shushing is embarrassing.

bilston

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

AngeGal wrote: »

I wouldn't be writing Munster off too quickly, they still have a formidable pack of forwards, the backrow especially will only improve from their experiences this season.

Conway has really impressed the last few weeks and if he can continue in that vein he will be a great addition.

Obviously a lot will depend on the no.10, if (and it's a big if) Keatley/Hanrahan can deliver consistently in that spot then Munster will be a serious outfit.

They may still be slightly in transition next season but I think they've a promising future.

The problem for Munster is that their back row of POM/TOD/Coughlan is a bit meh, obviously we've still to see what Stander can do and but compared to a back row of say Quinlan/Wallace/Leamy it's not quite at that level. Only POM would fit in with that company IMO. Plus whatever people say about ROG he has been key to Munster's success over the years, can Keatley or JJ replace him.

We'll have to see how Leinster go without Sexton and Nacewa not to mention Joe. However the loss of some of the fringe players like Conway (why did he leave again?) and Hagan may prove just as signifcant. They still have enough class to be in contention in both the Rabo and HEC.

Connacht have lots of good young players and hopefully they can get a top 7 finish next season.

I think there is definitely an opportunity for Ulster to be Ireland's main hope in both the Rabo and the HEC next season, however looking beyond that it should be pointed out that Muller, Afoa, Williams and Pienaar all come out of contract in June 2014.

Interesting times ahead anyway.

Buer

leakyboots wrote: »

Maybe it's slight wishful thinking from this Munster fan but I wonder will Leinster suffer a similar slump to us with the personnel leaving and retiring

I'd be surprised if they didn't. Sexton is near irreplaceable and Nacewa offered a lot when the internationals were gone. I can't see them managing to be as consistent in the league or as ruthless in the big games without them. Cullen and BOD another year older. Swings and roundabouts. Hopefully the likes of Beirne and Thornbury develop quickly and Madigan continues to improve.

Ulster will also be facing down the barrel of serious issues this time next year. They're currently serious contenders and a formidable side. Take Afoa, Muller, Williams and Pienaar out of their side though and they are nowhere near as strong. That's precisely what will happen next year when all of their contracts end at the same time and, more than likely, they will not be allowed sign NIQ players in those positions to replace them. At least Payne will qualify for Ireland allowing them another NIQ player to come in but it's going to be a very tricky period for them to manage..

bilston

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

Buer wrote: »

I'd be surprised if they didn't. Sexton is near irreplaceable and Nacewa offered a lot when the internationals were gone. I can't see them managing to be as consistent in the league or as ruthless in the big games without them. Cullen and BOD another year older. Swings and roundabouts. Hopefully the likes of Beirne and Thornbury develop quickly and Madigan continues to improve.

Ulster will also be facing down the barrel of serious issues this time next year. They're currently serious contenders and a formidable side. Take Afoa, Muller, Williams and Pienaar out of their side though and they are nowhere near as strong. That's precisely what will happen next year when all of their contracts end at the same time and, more than likely, they will not be allowed sign NIQ players in those positions to replace them. At least Payne will qualify for Ireland allowing them another NIQ player to come in but it's going to be a very tricky period for them to manage..

It depends on how tight the NIQ laws are, but if we're allowed to there is a fair chance we'd be able to re-sign Williams and Pienaar. As I've said loads of times I just can't understand in what world the IRFU could think having Ruan Pienaar playing for Ulster is bad for Ireland!

On the other hand if we lose those four players at once we'll be in trouble so next season needs to be our year.

Buer

bilston wrote: »

It depends on how tight the NIQ laws are, but if we're allowed to there is a fair chance we'd be able to re-sign Williams and Pienaar. As I've said loads of times I just can't understand in what world the IRFU could think having Ruan Pienaar playing for Ulster is bad for Ireland!

On the other hand if we lose those four players at once we'll be in trouble so next season needs to be our year.

I'd say Williams will be allowed to stay but Pienaar will be doing well to get another contract. Ulster have two other Irish scrum halves in Marshall and Heaney. If Heaney shows promise next season then I'd be surprised to see another contract sanctioned. He has already had two contracts at Ulster and will be 30. It would be a serious coup by Humphreys to convince the IRFU to let them give him a third deal.

I reckon this season coming is Ulster's window of opportunity. Everything into this one season and hopefully come up trumps.

irishbucsfan

Pienaar might want to go back to South Africa before the World Cup?

tolosenc

Leinster to lay their Rabo final hoodoo to rest?

Just beginning to come down after this one! Fantastic game. Ulster all but handed it to us in the first 10 minutes.

Really impressed with Toner's contributions. He matched up to the physicality, which is the biggest weakness in his game.

Thought Lacey was pedantic bit fair.

decisions

tolosenc wrote: »

Thought Lacey was pedantic bit fair.

I wouldn't expect any different from him. He got a few things wrong but overall I thought he had a descent game.